H 4838 Session 110 (1993-1994)
H 4838 General Bill, By Quinn, Riser and D.A. Wright
A Bill to amend Act 387 of 1963, as amended, relating to the creation of the
Irmo Fire District in Lexington County, so as to redesignate the boundaries of
the District, provide for the election of the governing board, and at the time
of the general election in 1994, provide for the terms of the members of the
Board, change the powers of the Board, provide that the property of any person
contiguous to the district must be added to the District upon receipt and
acceptance by the Board of Commissioners of a request from the property owner
requesting the inclusion, provide that when the town of Irmo annexes its
territory the property annexed shall automatically become part of the Irmo
Fire District, authorize the District to issue general obligation bonds not
exceeding one million dollars.
03/01/94 House Introduced, read first time, placed on calendar
without reference HJ-16
03/30/94 House Debate adjourned until Wednesday, April 6, 1994 HJ-84
04/06/94 House Debate adjourned until Wednesday, April 13, 1994 HJ-12
04/14/94 House Debate adjourned until Thursday, April 21, 1994 HJ-37
04/21/94 House Tabled HJ-29
Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
INTRODUCED
March 1, 1994
H. 4838
Introduced by REPS. Quinn, Wright and Riser
L. Printed 3/1/94--H.
Read the first time March 1, 1994.
A BILL
TO AMEND ACT 387 OF 1963, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE
CREATION OF THE IRMO FIRE DISTRICT IN LEXINGTON
COUNTY, SO AS TO REDESIGNATE THE BOUNDARIES OF THE
DISTRICT, PROVIDE FOR THE ELECTION OF THE GOVERNING
BOARD, AND AT THE TIME OF THE GENERAL ELECTION IN
1994, PROVIDE FOR THE TERMS OF THE MEMBERS OF THE
BOARD, CHANGE THE POWERS OF THE BOARD, PROVIDE
THAT THE PROPERTY OF ANY PERSON CONTIGUOUS TO THE
DISTRICT MUST BE ADDED TO THE DISTRICT UPON RECEIPT
AND ACCEPTANCE BY THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF
A REQUEST FROM THE PROPERTY OWNER REQUESTING THE
INCLUSION, PROVIDE THAT WHEN THE TOWN OF IRMO
ANNEXES ITS TERRITORY THE PROPERTY ANNEXED SHALL
AUTOMATICALLY BECOME PART OF THE IRMO FIRE
DISTRICT, AUTHORIZE THE DISTRICT TO ISSUE GENERAL
OBLIGATION BONDS NOT EXCEEDING ONE MILLION
DOLLARS.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Irmo Fire District is a special purpose district created by
Act 387 of 1963 for the purpose of providing fire protection service, a
tax levy, purchase of equipment, acquisition of sites and other matters.
Since the formation of the district the immediate area which it was
authorized to serve and adjacent areas have grown dramatically. The
regional development of the area now encompasses parts of two
counties, Lexington and Richland. Plans for the provision of fire service
must contemplate additional growth and development, especially in view
of the fact that parts of the area are involved within two counties. As the
district's boundaries are presently drawn, for instance, part of the Town
of Irmo is within the district. The Town of Irmo does not provide fire
service to its citizens and having concluded that the district can best
serve the entire town has contracted with Irmo Fire District for the
provision of service to that portion of the Town of Irmo which lies
within Richland County. The General Assembly finds that because of
the continuing growth and development within the area, there is a need
to provide some uniformity within those areas currently served by the
district especially to provide uniform coverage within the Town of Irmo.
This need is obvious not only because of the regional nature of growth
and the development of the neighborhoods, commercial and industrial
sites, but because of the existing network of roads, water distribution
systems and other infrastructure necessary to provide adequate service.
SECTION 2. The General Assembly finds:
(1) that public safety will be better protected and the dangers arising
from the environmental hazards will be minimized if the district's
boundaries are expanded;
(2) that the expansion of the territory and powers of the district is a
natural and logical method to provide regional service;
(3) that since the functions and powers to be exercised will serve
more than one county that this legislation is consistent with the holdings
in the case of Kleckley v. Pulliam 265 S.C. 177, 217 S.E. 2d
217 (1975).
SECTION 3. Section 3 of Act 387 of 1963, as last amended by Act
1074 of 1966, is further amended to read:
"Section 3. The Irmo Fire District in Lexington County shall
be is bounded as follows:
Beginning at a point where I-26 intersects with I-20 thence following
a southwesterly direction on I-20 to the Saluda River, thence
northwesterly along the Saluda River to lands of Allied
Chemical Fibers Corporation, thence along the
easternmost boundary of said Allied Chemical Fibers
Corporation to the tracks of the Columbia, Newberry, and Laurens
Railroad Company, thence northwesterly along the said railroad tracks
to a point of intersection with S.C. 36, continuing along S.C. 36 and
S.C.107 to a point bordering on the western boundary of the General
Electric Phillips Components Plant, thence running in a
southerly direction to the Saluda River, thence running in a westerly
direction along the Saluda River to lands of the South Carolina Electric
and Gas Company, thence north and east along a spur track to S.C. 107,
thence along S.C. 107 where it joins S.C. 271 and along S.C. 271 where
it joins S.C. 356, thence northerly along S.C. 356 to Irmo City limits
running along and including Irmo City line to I-26, thence along I-26 to
the point of beginning. The Irmo Fire District also includes within
its boundaries all areas within the limits of the municipality of
Irmo."
SECTION 4. Section 4 of Act 387 of 1963, as last amended by Act
794 of 1978, is further amended to read:
"Section 4. After the creation of the Irmo Fire District, there
is established a board of fire control for the district to be composed of
five members who shall be appointed by the Governor upon the
recommendation of a majority of the Lexington County Legislative
Delegation. Terms of office shall be for six years and until successors
are appointed and qualify except that of those appointed in 1978 two
shall be appointed for terms of six years, two shall be appointed for four
years and one shall be appointed for two years. The members of the
board shall serve without pay and shall file annually a report with the
Lexington County Board of Commissioners not later than the first of
November of each year, showing all activities and disbursements made
by the board during the year. If at least twenty percent of the qualified
electors residing in the district petition the commissioners of election by
the first of September of any general election year, the commissioners
shall call an election to be held at the following general election for the
purpose of electing a member to the board to succeed the member whose
term shall expire during each year, for a six-year term. Thereafter,
members shall be elected in each succeeding general election for terms
of six years."
(A) The present governing board serving on the
effective date of this act of the district shall continue with full power and
authority until such time as a new board is established under the
procedure outlined in this section.
(B) Before November, 1994, the County Election
Commission of Lexington County in cooperation with the County
Election Commission of Richland County shall provide for a general
election for the purposes of electing five commissioners to serve as
members of the board of commissioners. These commissioners must be
residents of the district and shall serve for a term of six years. However,
at the first election two members must be elected for a term of two years,
and two members must be elected for a term of four years, and one
member for a term of six years. The seats must be numbered one
through five with numbers one and two having the two-year term,
numbers 3 and 4 having the four-year term, and number 5 having the
six-year term.
(C) Those members of the board serving at the time of
the adoption of this amendment shall continue to serve until their
successors have been elected and qualified. The terms are effective
beginning the second Tuesday of January, 1995, at which time members
must be administered an oath of office. Any vacancy occurring in the
office of commissioner by reason of death, resignation, or otherwise
must be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term by appointment
by the Governor upon recommendation by a majority of the legislative
delegation. For the purpose of determining what constitutes the
legislative delegation, any member of the House or Senate whose district
embraces a portion of the territory of the Irmo Fire District."
SECTION 5. Section 5 of Act 387 of 1963, as last amended by Act
892 of 1971, is further amended to read:
"Section 5. The board shall have the following duties and
responsibilities:
(a) To buy such fire fighting equipment as the board deems
necessary for the purpose of controlling fires within the money allocated
or made available to the board for such purposes.
(b) To select the sites or places within the area where the fire
fighting equipment shall be kept.
(c) To provide and select the drivers and other volunteer firemen to
man such equipment who shall serve without compensation.
(d) To procure and supervise the training of the volunteer firemen
selected to insure that the equipment shall be utilized for the best interest
of the area.
(e) To be responsible for the upkeep, maintenance and repairs of the
trucks and other fire fighting equipment and to that end shall, as often
as is deemed necessary, inspect such equipment.
(f) To promulgate such rules and regulations as it may deem proper
and necessary to insure that the equipment is being used to the best
advantage of the area.
(g) To construct, if necessary, buildings to house the equipment
authorized herein.
"(h) To borrow not exceeding fifty thousand dollars on
such terms and for such a period as to the fire control board may seem
most beneficial for the fire district, in anticipation of taxes. The
indebtedness shall be evidenced by a note or notes issued by the
members of the board and the county treasurer. The full faith, credit and
taxing power of the Irmo Fire District is hereby irrevocably pledged for
the payment of the indebtedness."
The commission may:
(1) have perpetual succession;
(2) sue and be sued;
(3) adopt, use, and alter a corporate seal;
(4) make bylaws for the management and regulations of
its affairs, a quorum for its meetings being a majority of the members of
the commission;
(5) receive and deposit monies derived from
revenue-producing facilities and to withdraw the monies for the
purposes of operating and maintaining the facilities and other purposes
as provided in this section;
(6) prescribe such regulations with respect to the use of any
property or any facilities owned by the district, and relating to the
services to be provided by the district as is considered necessary;
(a) No regulation may be adopted unless a certified copy of the
resolution has been recorded in the office of the clerks of court for
Lexington and Richland Counties and posted in at least two public
places in the district, and notice of the intent to adopt the regulation has
been published at least once during each of three successive weeks in a
newspaper published in and having general circulation in Lexington and
Richland Counties. The notice shall give the time, date, and place at
which a public hearing is to be held. The notice shall further specify, in
brief, the scope of the regulation and state the date on which it is
proposed that the regulation becomes effective and place at which a
public hearing is to be held. The notice shall further specify, in brief,
the scope of the regulation and state the date on which it is proposed that
the regulation becomes effective.
(b) The commission is expressly authorized to apply to
any court of general jurisdiction for the enforcement of the regulation
through the means of mandatory injunctions and such other remedial
orders as shall appear to the courts to be just and equitable.
(7) acquire, purchase, hold, use, lease, mortgage, sell,
transfer, and dispose of any property, real, personal or mixed, or any
interest in it;
(8) conduct or have conducted, investigations, and
surveys needed as a basis for decisions on the type, size, and scope of
public works needed in the district, to have prepared estimates of
construction costs, and to have prepared detailed plans and
specifications required to secure construction and equipment bids on
public facilities to be owned by the district;
(9) build, acquire, construct, operate, and maintain
such fire service facilities, hydrant systems, water distribution systems,
and waterworks facilities, or contract for such services as in the opinion
of the board is necessary for the district;
(10) acquire and operate facilities and equipment as is
required for the protection of lives and property against fire and other
hazards arising;
(11) impose a schedule of rates and charges for the use
of fire service facilities, public buildings, and any other facilities as the
commission may place into effect, and to revise, whenever it so wishes
or may be so required, a schedule of rates for fire service, use of public
buildings, and any other facilities made available by it to persons, firms,
and corporations within the district. However, no schedule of rates and
charges may be adopted unless a certified copy of the schedule has been
recorded in the office of the clerk of court for Lexington and Richland
Counties and posted in at least two public places in the district, and
notice of the intent to adopt the schedule once during each of three
successive weeks in a newspaper published in and having general
circulation in Lexington and Richland Counties. The notice shall give
the time, date, and place at which a public hearing is to be held. The
notice shall specify the date on which it is proposed that the schedule of
rates and charges are effective;
(12) make use of city, county, and state highway
rights-of-way in which to lay pipes and lines in the manner and under
conditions as the appropriate officials in charge of the rights-of-way
approve;
(13) exercise the power of eminent domain for any corporate
function. The power of eminent domain may be exercised through any
procedure prescribed by the Eminent Domain Procedure Act, Section
28-2-10, et seq., of the 1976 Code of Laws, as these statutes are now
constituted or as they may afterwards be constituted following any
amendments to them;
(14) appoint officers, hire agents, employees, servants,
and firefighters, prescribe their duties, fix their compensation, and
determine if and to what extent they must be bonded for the faithful
performance of their duties. These persons may be employed full or part
time, or under such special conditions as the commission may
determine;
(15) make contracts for construction, engineering, and
other services;
(16) in addition to the taxes which may be levied for
the purpose of retiring bonded indebtedness as provided in this section,
the commission may levy annually an ad valorem tax not to exceed 9.4
mills for corporate purposes, provided that this amount may be increased
by a vote of three-fourths of the members of the commission. The
commission shall annually notify the county auditors and the county
treasurers of Lexington and Richland Counties the tax levy millage to be
assessed against the real and personal property in the district, these
public officers of Lexington and Richland Counties shall then assess and
collect the tax as requested and the treasurers shall hold the funds and
disburse them as directed by the commission, including deposits to the
commission's operating account as provided in item 5 above. All taxes
constitute a lien upon the property against which they are levied, on a
parity with the lien of county taxes, and the provisions of law relating to
penalties for the nonpayment or tardy payment of county taxes, and the
provisions relating to sale of property for delinquent county taxes shall
apply to taxes levied pursuant to this act;
(17) do all other acts and things necessary or
convenient to carry out any function or power committed or granted to
the district;
(18) adopt regulations requiring connection to any
water system owned by the district by all properties to whom such
system is available;
(19) enter into a management contract with a qualified
person or firm to operate and maintain the district."
SECTION 6. Act 387 of 1963, is amended by adding:
"Section 9A. (A) The property of any person or persons
contiguous to the district must be added to the district upon receipt and
acceptance by the commission of a request from the property owner
requesting the inclusion.
(B) When the Town of Irmo annexes territory so that the territory
becomes a part of the town, the property annexed shall automatically
without further action on the part of the commission becomes part of the
Irmo Fire District and the map of the district must be changed so that it
is co-terminus with the newly annexed area.
Section 9B. For the purposes of raising money to acquire, enlarge,
improve, and maintain public works authorized by this act and required
for the district, the commission, pursuant to resolution duly adopted,
may issue general obligation bonds not exceeding one million dollars
whose proceeds may be used for purposes, including the payment of
such interest on the bonds as may be capitalized. All or any general
obligation bonds issued pursuant to this paragraph must be additionally
secured by a pledge of all of the net revenues to be derived from the
operation of district services and other net revenues from other facilities
constructed for the district, it being specifically recognized that the
commission may wish to provide for further obligations of the district
secured by a pledge on a parity with the pledge required by this section.
If, pursuant to this section, general obligation bonds are issued:
(1) they must be issued as a single issue or, from time to time, as
several separate issues. They must bear such date as the commission
determines and the bonds of any issue mature in such equal or unequal
annual installments as may be determined by the commission. They must
be made payable at a place the commission prescribes and bear interest
at a rate payable in the manner as the commission determines. The
bonds must be issued in fully registered form as to both principal and
interest and are transferable in accordance with the terms of the
resolution authorizing the issuance of them. Any bond issued pursuant
to this paragraph may be made subject to redemption prior to its stated
maturity on the terms and conditions, and with the redemption premium,
as the commission prescribes.
(2) They must be sold at not less than par and accrued interest to the
date of their respective deliveries at public sale, and at least seven days
prior to any sale, notice announcing the intention to receive bids for the
sale of the bonds must be published in a newspaper of general
circulation in this State. In offering the bonds for sale, the commission
may reserve the right to reject any and all bids and if all bids are
rejected, the commission may negotiate privately for the disposition of
the bonds.
(3) The bonds and all interest to become due on them has the tax
exempt status prescribed by Section 12-1-60 of the 1976 Code.
(4) The bonds must be executed in the manner as may be prescribed
by the commission; however, no person signing the obligations is
personally liable on them.
(5) There is irrevocably pledged for the payment of the general
obligation bonds and interest on them as they mature, the full faith,
credit, and resources of the district, and the auditors and treasurers of
Lexington and Richland Counties, respectively, are authorized and
directed to levy and collect annually a tax upon all taxable property
within the district sufficient to pay the bonds and interest on them as
they respectively mature, and to create the sinking fund as may be
necessary for the redemption of the bonds and interest at their respective
maturities. Net revenues from facilities described in Section 1 which are
pledged to bond payments must be delivered to the Treasurer of
Richland County prior to the occasion when the auditors fix the annual
levy. The annual ad valorem tax in this act directed to be levied may be
reduced in each year by the amount of net revenues as mentioned earlier
actually in the hands of the Treasurer of Richland County at the time the
tax for the year is required to be levied and the tax may be entirely
suspended for any year in case the monies on hand, applicable as
mentioned earlier, are sufficient to pay both principal and interest then
due or falling due in such year and remaining unpaid. If, pursuant to the
authorizations of this act, front foot assessments are imposed upon
properties abutting water distribution mains or water lines making water
available to the lots with the proceeds of bonds issued pursuant to this
act, then in those instances, the proceeds derived from the assessments
must be paid into the sinking fund created pursuant to this paragraph and
must be applied solely to the payment of principal and interest of bonds
issued pursuant to this act. To the extent that monies from this source
are available, then in those instances the tax levy ordered by this section
must be reduced or omitted. Provided, that the Treasurer of Richland
County shall in his discretion, be empowered to appoint any banking
institution in this State maintaining offices in Lexington or Richland
Counties, and having an established trust department, as corporate
trustee of funds derived from front foot assessments. In that instance, it
is the duty of the corporate trustee to keep the same invested and
reinvested in obligations of the United States or any agency thereof, or
obligations guaranteed by the United States or any agency of it, having
maturities of not longer than five years from the occasion of the
investment. It is the duty of the corporate trustee, at the direction of the
Treasurer of Richland County, to make all or any part of the proceeds in
its hands available for the payment of principal and interest on the
bonds, in accordance with the directives, from time to time, issued by
the Treasurer of Richland County.
(6) The pledge of revenue, authorized by this section is not, in the
discretion of the commission, exclusive, and the commission may
reserve the right to issue further bonds, payable in whole or in part, from
these revenues, on a parity with the bonds authorized by this section,
under conditions as the commission may prescribe.
(7) The proceeds derived from the sale of the bonds must be
deposited with the Treasurer of Richland County, in a separate and
special fund, and expended upon the warrants or orders of the
commission for the purposes for which they are issued and no other,
except that any premium received must be deposited with the Treasurer
of Richland County and by him applied to the first installment of
principal becoming due on the bonds and any accrued interest received
must be applied by the Treasurer of Richland County to the first
installment of interest becoming due on the bonds. Neither the
purchasers of the bonds nor any subsequent holders of them is
responsible for the proper application of the proceeds of sale.
(8) The Treasurer of Richland County is authorized to invest the
special funds held for district purposes in United States Government
bonds or obligations, and in state or national banks serving as
depositories of funds for instrumentalities of the State of South Carolina,
in interest bearing accounts whenever practical. All interest earned must
be credited to the accounts of the Irmo Fire District."
SECTION 8. If any section, provision, or the application of any
provision of this act is held invalid, the invalidity applies to this act in
its entirety, to any and all provisions of the act, and the application of
this act or any provision of this act, and to this end the provisions of this
act are not severable.
SECTION 9. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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